Decalogue

Thou shalt have one God only; who
Would be at the expense of two?
No graven images may be
Worshipped, except the currency:
Swear not at all; for, for thy curse
Thine enemy is none the worse:
At church on Sunday to attend
Will serve to keep the world thy friend
Honour thy parents that is, all
From whom advancement may befall
Thou shalt not kill; but need'st not strive
Officiously to keep alive
Do not adultery commit;
Advantage rarely comes of it
Thou shalt not steal; an empty feat
When it's so lucrative to cheat:
Bear not false witness; let the lie
Have time on its own wings to fly:
Thou shalt not covet, but tradition
Approves all forms of competition.

- Arthur Hugh Clough, "The New Decalogue"

Dec"a*logue (?; 115), n. [F. d'ecalogue, L. decalogus, fr. Gr. ; ten + speech, to speak, to say. See Ten.]

The Ten Commandments or precepts given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, and originally written on two tables of stone.

 

© Webster 1913.